Floor for stalls.



' Nu.'7|4,s77. Patented nec. 2, |902. J. w. comas.

FLOOR FOR STALLS.

(Application filed Aug, 5, 1901.) l

No. 714,677. Patented Dec. 2,1902.

\ J'. W. CUMBS.

FLOR FOR SITALLS.

(Application tled Aug. 5, 1901.)

No Model.)

INVENTOR: .Iojhn w. (la-rubs,

' BY fwd/C9 ATTORNEY Nrrn FLOOR FO`R STALLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 714,677, dated December2, 1902. Application filed August 5,1901. Serial No. 70,864. (No model.)

To all wwwt it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. COMBS, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floors forStalls; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to numerals of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Theinvention relates generally to improvements in stall-Heers; and theinvention is particularly designed to provide a novel construction ofstall-floor consisting, primarily, of an arrangement of supporting-slatswhich are reversibly as well as detachably arranged in socket-plates orother equivalent supporting means embedded or otherwise secured in theconcrete, stone, wood, or other foundation of the stall, the saidslatslbeing capable of easy removal from the supporting-sockets andadapted for rearrangement in the said sockets, so that when one portionof a'slat is worn down it can be turned on its side or reversed end toend to present a new surface for the horse to stand upon, and in thismanner being capable of arranging each slat usually in eight dierentpositions until sufficiently worn to be discarded.

, A further object of this invention is to arrange the slats in aposition above the upper surface of the stall-foundation by supportingeach Slat at its extreme ends in the eX- treme endsof the foundation,whereby the major part of each slat is arranged above the foundation andan unobstructed space is provided longit'udinally between the uppersurface of the foundation and the lowerlsurfaces is always kept dry andthe slats can be easily removed for iiushing out and cleaning the uppersurface of the stall-foundation beneath this arrangement ofsupporting-slats and an elastic floor for the horse to stand on isprovided.

In the general arrangement of stall-floors as heretofore made it hasbeen the practice to so support each slat that practically a solid orrigid floor construction is the result. is the main purpose of mypresent invention to avoid this objectionable feature and to produce aperfectly elastic flooring from end to end of the stall-foundation,whereby the most beneficial results to the feet of the horse standingupon the elastic flooring are obtained. It is a well-known fact thatwith the stamping of the horse when placed in the stall the cords of thelegs become stiifened, and when standing on a solid or rigid flooringthis fact is clearly noticeable to the person taking the horse from thestall,especia1ly after it has stood for some time.

With the arrangement of the Hoor-slats as set forth in the followingdescription of my invention I provide a stall-licor 0f perfectelasticity which is restful to the feet of the horse, and when the horsedoes stamp, which seems to be its nature, such arrangement of elasticslats makes it easy on the cords throughout the legs, and therefore hasthe most beneficial results, in that the horse after it has stood in itsstall can be taken therefrom in a refreshed condition.

With these several objects in view my invention consists in the novelstall-floor to be hereinafter more particularly set forth; and,furthermore, this invention consists in the various novel arrangementsand combinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in thedetails of the construction thereof, all of which will be fullydescribed in the accompanying specification and then finally embodied inthe clauses of theclaim, which form a part of this specification.

The invention also consista-furthermore, in the novel combination, witha supporting means, of an arrangement of removably as well as reversiblyplaced slats of any suitable numberof sides, preferably four in number,the said sides all being of the same widths, whereby when a slat hasfour equal IOO sides, so as to form a perfect square in crosssection,the slat can be turned four times as it becomes worn, and then the sameslat can be reversed end to end and then again turned four times,thesame slat therefore being capable of presenting eight different surfacesto the wear and stamp of the horses front feet, where the most wear isbrought upon the surface of the stall-door.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan View ot' one stall provided with a door madeaccording to the principles of my invention, the said view illustrating,in connection with the stall at either side, portions of other stallsadjacent thereto; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal and central verticalsection of the stall with the slats and the sewer connectionsrepresented in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the variousparts illustrated in said Fig. 1, but with the various slats removed tomore clearly illustrate the arrangement of the supporting devices forholding the slats in place, as well as the upper surface of thestallfoundation, with which the sewer-traps are connected; and Fig. 4 isa vertical cross-section taken on line 4 4 in said Fig. 3 looking in thedirection of the arrow the said View also representing incross-sectionthe arrangement of the slats which provide the-ooring for the horse tostand on. Fig. 5 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, of one ofthe slatsupporting devices and a portion of the stallfoundation, thesaid view also representing in vertical section a pair of sewer-trapsand in elevation the pipeconnection between the said traps. Fig. 6 is aperspective view of one of the Slat-supporting devices, and Fig.

'of a triangular cross-section.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the saidabove-described views to indicate corresponding parts.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates the complete stall-foundation, whichusually consists ofconcrete, chert-stone, wood, cement, or any othermaterial suitable forsuch purposes. In the drawings this foundation isrepresented as made of concrete, and the foundation conssts,essentially, of the rear 2, the front coping 3, and the two side copings4. Upon the copings 4 are the usual side partitions 5 of the stall,which extend back to and are secured against the inner sheathing orplanks 6 of the wall 7. Each post 8 is secured in a post-socket 9,embedded in the copings 4, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The spacebetween the various copings 3 and4 and the rear 2 is provided with asuitably-formed depressed part 10, the upper surface 11 of which is madeto incline from the front coping 3 to the rear of the stall and from thetwo side copings 4 toward the middle of the depressed part 10,'asclearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, the said inclined surfaces 11 ofthe depressed part usually being provided with narrow ducts or runways12, which lead to a trap 13, usually a bell-trap, as represented moreespecially in Fig. 5. These ducts or runways 12, however, are not anabsolute necessity and may be dispensed with, if desired. Furthermore,the rear 2 of the foundation 1 is usually provided with a'lgutter 14,running laterally directly in rear of the stall, being provided with atrap 15, which is preferablya bell-trap, as shown. Connecting the saidtraps 13 and 15 are various pipes 16 and 17, which lead to a mainsewer-pipe 18 for conducting all liquid matter into the said sewerpipe,such as the urine from the animal and the water when iushing out thedepressed part 10. Embedded in the said foundation 1, at the front andrear edges, respectively, of the said depressed part 10, are a pair ofslatholding devices 19. These devices 19 are preferably made asindicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 of the drawings, the lower edge orportion 20 of each device 19 being securely embedded and held in theconcrete foundation 1, while the upper edge or portion 21 of eachdevice'is respectively lined against the inner surfaces of the front 2and the front coping 3, as clearly represented in the said Figs. l, 2,and3. Each device 19 has its ends 22 embedded in the side copings 4, asclearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. In this manner the two supportingdevices 19.at the front and rear of the depressed part 10 are securelyfixed in their proper positions for the purposes to be presentlydescribed.

As shown, each device 19 is formed with a forwardly-extendingflange 23and a suitable number of u pwardly-projecting ribs or walls 24, therebyproviding receiving pockets or sockets 25. The number and sizes of thesepockets or sockets 25 correspond. to the number and sizes of the slats26 which are employed in the iioor of the stall, and it will thereforebe clearly evident that I may employ any number of slats 26 and suchreceiving or supporting pockets 25. The width of the saidupwardly-projecting ribs or walls 24 is usually one-half inch; but ofcourse this may also be varied, if desired, so as to provide larger orsmaller spaces between the adjacent slats 26 and between the two endslats and the edges of the side copings 4, as will be clearly evident.ally made of cast-iron; but it will be understood that any othermaterial which is suitable for the purposes for which the said devices19 are employed may be used.v

The several slats 26 are made of hard wood, preferably maple orspruce,or any other wood,

The said devices 19 are usuy IOC and are readily placed in pdsition withthe ends of a slat resting in the oppositely-placed pockets or socketsof the respective devices 19 at the front and rear of the depression l0,thereby providing a perfectly level stall-Hoor having thelongitudinally-extending narrow openings 27` between the slats,throughwhich any urine and other foreign matter passes into the chamber formedby the bottoms of the said slats and the inclinedsurface of thedepressed part lV of the foundation and thence by means of the trap intothe sewerpipes. As has been stated and as illustrated in the severalfigures of the drawings, the said slats 26 are preferably of `a squareshape in cross-section, whereby each slat as it becomes Worn can beturned on its several flat sides and also reversed end to end and thenca'pable of being turned four times again, whereby each slat can besafely used eight different times before it has to be discarded.Furthermore, the several slats can be separately removed for washingthem off, should this be necessary, or for readily flushing out thedepressed part l() of the foundation.

In Fig. 8 I have represented a modified form of Slat-supporting device19 in which I have dispensed with the lower edge portion 20 and haveprovided the device with a rearwardly-extending projection or shoulder28, which is fully embedded in the concrete, as shown.

As has been stated, the supporting or iioor slats need not of anecessity be of a rectangular or a square cross-section, but they may beof any other suitable polygonal cross-section. Such a modified form ofslat and correspondingly-formed Slat-supporting device are illustratedin Figs. 9 and l0 of the drawings. In this construction of stall-Hoor Iemploy slats 29, which are of an equilateraltriangular cross-section,each supporting device in this arrangement being formed with V-shapedribs 30, which f orm the correspondingly-shaped receiving sockets orpockets 3l, in which can be removably and reversibly arranged the endsof the triangular slats 29, all of which will be fully and clearlyunderstood from an inspection of the said Figs. 9 and 10.

My flooring combines the advantages of simplicity and slight cost, sinceit consists merely of lengths of wood or slats having no specialformation and sockets of simple form to receive the ends of the slats;durability, since a very large number of surfaces can be presented forwear, the slats being rotatable and reversible end for end, and sincethe slats are supported so as to be wholly out of contact with water andto permit of free circulation of air; e sanitation, since perfectdrainage is possible and there are no pockets for the retention andaccumulation of excreta; convenience, since the slats have merely to belifted when they are to be removed and in replacing them they are inreadiness for putting in place whichever end may be presented andwhichever side be up, and comfort for and protection to the animal frominjury, since he stands and stamps not on a rigid unyielding surface,but on one that is yielding or elastic, the slats being of such lengthas to wholly support the animal with all feet thereon and beingsupported themselves only at their ends are free to bend or flex, andthe slats not retaining water afford a comfortable and healthy bed.

I am fully aware that changes may be made in the arrangements andcombinations of the various devices and parts which are employed withoutdeparting from the scope of this invention. Hence I do not limit myinvention to the exact arrangements and combinations of the devices andparts as hereinabove described and as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, nor do I confine myself to the exact details of theconstruction of any of the said parts.

The arrangement herein shown and described for the outlet of liquid isnot claimed herein, but is made the subject of a separate application,filed by me October l, 1902, Serial No. 125,529.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A stall-Hoorcomprising a series of slats of a length for the animal to stand on withall feet, and supports for the slats at their extremities only, wherebythe slats are free to flex or bend, said slats being independent of eachother and bodily removable from both supports, and reversible end forend.

2. A stall-floor comprising a series of slats of 4a length for theanimal to stand on with all feet, and supports for the slats at theirextremities only, whereby the slats are free to bend or tiex, saidsupports consisting of sockets that receive the ends of the slats andhold them separate from each other, and from which they are bodilyremovable.

3. A stall-floor comprising a series of slats of a length for the animalto stand on with all feet, and being each of uniform size and shapefrom` end to end, and supports for the slats at their endsonly, wherebythe slats are free to Hex or bend, said slats being bodily removablefrom both supports.

4. A stall-floor comprising a series of slats of a length for the animalto stand on with all feet, each slat being polygonal in cross-section,with equal sides, whereby different sides in succession may be placeduppermost, and supports for the slats at their extremities only, wherebythe slats are free to dex or bend, and the slats being bodily removablefrom said supports, whereby they may be reversed end for end.

5. A stall-floor comprising a series of slats of a length for the animalto stand on with all feet, and similar supports for the slats at'theirextremities only, whereby the slatsare free to iiex or bend, theportions of the slats that engage the supports being the same in sizeandshape at both ends of the slats, and the slats IIO being bodilyremovable from the supports and reversible end for end.

6. A stallfloor comprising a series of slats of a length for the animalto stand on with all feet, and similar supports for the slats at theirextremities only, whereby the slats are free to iex or bend, theportions of the slats that engage the supports being square incrosssection and of the same size at both ends whereby the slats may beturned to present diierent surfaces uppermost, and be reversed end forend.

7. A stall-floor comprising a foundation of concrete, with a depressedsurface, and hav- `ing at front and rear ends Slat-supports, and

JOHN W. COMBS.

Witnesses:

FREDK. C. FRAENTZEL, E. VAN NESS.

